Protecting device



' Oct. 20, 1925 L. R. JOHNSON PROTECTING DEVICE Filed Jan. 31. 1925 aSheets-Shel 1 auucuhw A 66 Fay/ohm;

Oct. 20 1925.

L. R. JOHNSON PROTECTING DEVICE Filed Jan. 31. 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Oct. 20, 1925.

' L. R. JOHNSON PROTECTING bEvIcE 5 Sheqjis-Sheet 3 ivvuentoz zae/iawhzsm aim/14 dzalra Filed Jan. 31. 1925 Patented a. 20, 1925,

UNITED \STATES 3 PATENT"OFFICE.

Application filed January 31, 1925. Serial- No. 8,098.

To all whom it may conccm:

Be it known that I, Lnn Ror JOHNSON, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Brenham, in the county of.Washington and State of vTexas, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Protecting Devices, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to protecting devices foll'lgstoflices, railwaymail or express cars, ba

' an object the provision of means whereby one or more guns may be firedfrom a point remote from the gun and without the use of the hands of theperson firing, so that the hands may be held above the head to disarmsus icion and the or guns discharged wit out attracting attention of therobbers or hold-up men until the actual firin occurs.

To this end, the invention provi es electrically' controlled means fordischar g one or more guns with the latter place at a point remote fromthe controllin means and hidden or camouflaged so that t ey will not beapparent to persons unfamiliar with the same. a

With the above and other objects in view,

, the invention further includes the following novel features anddetails of construction, to be hereinafter more fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawings -and pointed out in theappended claims. In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspectlve viewillustrating the invention arranged for use.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the'line22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section taken substantially on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure-4 is'a fragmentary elevationlooking at the breech ends of theguns with the hammer shaft and hammers removed.

Figure 5 is a detail section on the line 55 of Figure I Referring to thedrawings in detail where in like characters of reference denote corre--spon parts, the guns whose barrels are indicate at are designed to besupported in a frame 11' contained within a housmg 12,

the guns being horizontally arranged at a height approximately equal tothe height of the stomach of an average man- The base 13 of the housing12 is supported by a panel 14 and the latter is .hmgedly secured asshown at 15 to a wallror suitable support 16. ,Thepanel leis hinged atone end and and similar places and has fortudinally to uncover the innerends of the relatively wide bases so as to proyide oppositely extendingflanges to which'the hinges y its opposite end may be locked orotherwise anel bem swung horlzontally outward. e end of t e housmgabutting the support 16 is open, while the outer end of the said housingcomprises a frame 17 which carries a paper or other covering 18 uponwhich maybe printed suitable indicia or information. .For examplc theclosure 18 may contain post oflice so that thehousing would not be of asuspicious character.

The inner ends of the adapted toreceive a she or cartridge 19 which isheld in place b means of a breech bar 20. This bar is sli 1y secured asindicated at 21 to the framell and carries notched extensions or breechblocks 22 which engage behind the shells or'cartridges 19 to,- hold thelatter within thefiring chamber at the inner end of the gun barrel. Theshells or cartridges are inserted or removed from the barrel by movingthe breech bar longibarrels.

Hingedl mounted upon the base 13 adjacent eac a guide bracket 24. Thesebrackets have 23 are secured and which are engaged pivotally movablelatches 25 mounted upon the bases and by means of which the guide.brackets 24 are held in position. Shdmgly the notch of the breech blocks22 to engage the shell or cartridges 19. The firing'pins are providedwith heads 27 between whlch and the brackets 24 are positioned springs28 which serve tov yieldingl force the pinsin a direction away fromt eshells or cartridges 19.

' Rotatably mounted in brackets 29 sup- 100 firing pins 26. Movement. ofthe hammers 5 in one direction is limited by a stop 33 which extendstransversely of the hammers and is supported by arms 34 which arecarried by the brackets 29. Mounted upon one end of the shaft is a fastloose pul-- 110 ley 35 and 36 respectively.

' Mounted upon the support 16 above the barrels 10 are Y barrel 10 asindicated at 23 is mounted in the brackets 24 are firing pins .26 whichare adapted to operate through housing 12 is a shaft 37 which isrotatable in bearings provided at the outer ends of bearing brackets 38.The shaft 37 has secured thereon a pulley 39 over which passes a belt40, the latter being adapted to engage either the pulley 35 or 36. Thebelt operates through a stationary guide 41 and a laterallymovable-slidingly mounted guide 42, the latter. operating in a guide 43mounted upon the support 16and being adapted to shift the belt 40 so asto cause the latter to operate eitherthe fast or loose pulley 35 or 36.The belt passes through a slot 44 provided in the housing 12.

Secured to the slidingly mounted guide 42 is one end of'a wire or cable45, the op posite end of which extends into a cabinet 46 which islocated at some suitable point remote from the housing 12. The end ofthe cable 45 which enters the cabinet 46 is secured to one end of anL-shaped lever 47. This lever is pivotally mounted as shown at 48 withinthe cabinet and has pivotally connected thereto one end of a foot pedal49 which extends through the top of the cabinet 46. A spring 50 securedto the lever 47 serves to yieldingly resist pivotal movement of thelatter in one direction. A spring 51 which is secured to the slidinglymounted guide 42 also serves to resist movement of the slide in onedirection and to hold the said slide in position to guide the belt overthe loose pulley 36.

The shaft 37 is driven from an electric motor 52 by any suitable means,the means shown consisting of grooved pulleys 53 and 54 and a belt 55.Current for the operation of the pulley 52 may be received from anysuitable source, while connected in circuit with the motor andcontrolling the operation of the same is a switch 56. The switch 56includes pivotally mounted blades 57 to which is connected a link 58,the latter being pivotally secured to a hingedly mounted panel Sprovided in. the top of the cabinet 46. The switch 56 may be connectedwith a source of current by means of conductor wires 59, while wires 60connect the switch with the motor 52.

Also pivotally mounted within the cabinet 46 as shown at 61 is a bellcrank lever 62, one arm of which is positioned beneath and engaged bythe panel S. The other arm of the leve 62 is connected to one end of acable 63 w ich passes over guide pulleys 64' and is connected to theinner end of a plunger 65. The plunger 65-is guided .through the top ofthe cabinet 46 and through a guide bracket 55 within the cabinet, asprlng 67 which surrounds the plunger acts to yieldingly forcethe-latter inward. The outer end of the plunger is provided with a pedal68.

It 1s of course apparent that one or more of the devices may bepositioned at advantageous points with the. cabinets preferably hiddenin conveniently f accessible/places. In the event of a hold up, a clerkor other person will press downward with his footupon the panel S so asto close the switch 56, downward movement of the panel rocking the bellcrank lever 62 upon its pivot so as to move the plunger 65 outward. henthe switch 56 is closed a circuit will be completed through the motor 52todrive the shaft 37, the belt 40 operating over the loose pulley 36.IWh'en the hold up. men are 'in'the line of fireof the guns, the'pedal49 is depressed so that the cableconnection heads of the firing pins-'26and explode the cartridges or shells 19. "By pressing upon the pedal 68,the 1 bell crank 62 is operated through the'cable 63 to raise the panelS and open the switch 56 and stop the operationof the motor 52.

In loading the guns, the panel 14 is unlocked and swung outward upon thehinges 15. r The breech slide 20 is moved laterally to uncover thebreech ends. of the gun barrels 10. The cartridges are then slipped inplace and the breech slide operated to move the breech blocks in properposition. In order to insert the cartridges, the guide brackets 24 ofthe firing pins are swung laterally downward to the position shown inFigure 4, the latches 25 being moved pivotally to release the brackets.After the cartridges are inserted the brackets are returned to theirnormal position and the latches operated to hold the brackets in place.

The invention is susceptible of various changes in its form, proportionsand minor details of construction and right is herein reserved to makesuch changes as properly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention what is claimed is a 1. A device of thecharacter described comprising a gun, normally disengaged means foroperating thehamme'r of the gun to discharge the latter, electricallyoperated means for actuating the hammer operating means and means remotefromthe gun forengaging the hammer operating means with the hammer.

2. A device of the character described comprising a housing,gunspositioned with in the housing, a hammer shaft common to all of theguns and rotatable to discharge the latter, a normally disengagedhammershaft operating mechanism, means remote from the housing for controllingthe operatlon of the hammer operating mechanism and means also remotefrom-the shaft where- I all of the shaft operating mechanism, meansremote from the housing for controlling the operation of the hammeroperating mechanism and means remote from the shaft and operablesimultaneously with the mechanism controlling means for engaging theoperating mechanism with the hammer shaft.

comprising a housing, guns positioned within the housing, a hammer shaftcommon to guns and rotatable to discharge the latter, a normallydisengaged hammer shaft operating mechanism, means where- 4. A device ofthe character described by said mechanism may be engaged with v theshaft, means for controlling the operation of the mechanism and meansassociating the shaft engaging means and. the

mechanism controlling means to provide for simultaneous operation.

5. A device of the character described; comprising a housing, gunsdisposed within Y the housing, Bnor'mally inactive means common to allof the guns and disengagedtherefrom, whereby the latter may besimultaneously discharged, means remote from the housing for renderingthe gun dischargmg means active and means 0 erable' sub sequently to theoperation of t e last mentioned means for engagingthe gun dischargingmeans with the guns.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature. LEE ROY JOHNSON. I

